Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman, known the world over for his scores to over 115 movies, not to mention the classic theme for The Simpsons, adds two major orchestral works to his recorded catalogue.

The dynamic American conductor JoAnn Falletta directs the forces of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in this new studio recording. 'Wunderkammer', a concerto for orchestra, was written for the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, which toured the piece in the UK before playing it at the BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall in August 2022. ‘'Wunderkammer'lived up to its name, as one door after another opened to reveal a striking nugget of loosely-connected musical material,’ wrote Boyd Tonkin (The Arts Desk) of the Proms performance.

Talking of his concert music, Elfman commented: I have a friend who's a novelist, and I guess it's the same thing for him. It's starting those first words on the piece of paper that can be brutally difficult, but there is a point where the momentum of the piece starts to feel like it's carrying me along, and that is my joy in writing, those moments. It's because I've had those moments writing for film here and there that it attracted me to the idea of what if I got an idea and I didn't have to stop? I can keep developing it.

The album is completed with a short choral piece in French, ‘Are you lost?’, from Elfman’s song-cycle Trio. Scored for women’s voices, piano, strings and various percussion instruments, the work was actually premiered at the recording sessions in Liverpool, and give a glimpse at a sonic world that we don’t usually associate with the composer: gentle, reflective and delicate.